Don't Give Up
by musicforlife101
Summary: What did Father Joe mean? Spoilers for IWTB. Set just after they return from paradise. One shot, unless you all want me to continue. Came to me just now. I wrote this in like 15 min.


'_Don't give up.' That's it! I finally understand!_

"Mulder." Scully said as she walked into his office from the kitchen. It was the weekend and they had only been home from their vacation for a day. She was enjoying cooking and, for what felt like the first time in a long time, she was enjoying everything about the day. Her mother was coming over to have dinner with them and she said she had a surprise for them, too. Skinner had called and said he had good news for them that he wanted to discuss, but that it could wait until Monday so their weekend wouldn't be interrupted by the drive to Washington. Mulder hadn't been in his office the whole time they had been home, and now he was only there to clean up a bit.

"Wassup Doc?" Mulder responded before turning to face her. She looked as beautiful as ever, but in a different way. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail, but not the kind she wore at the hospital. It was higher on her head and the shorter strands of hair had fallen from the rubber band and were tumbling around her face. She stood there with a sky blue apron tied around her waist that made her eyes stand out brilliantly. Her hand were on her hips and she wore a satisfied smile. Scully glanced around at the room they were standing in, momentarily distracted. It was surprisingly clean and organized, save for most of the newspaper clippings on the wall. But there were no more pencils in the ceiling, which was a good sign. Mulder noticed her looking around and caught sight of her surprised eyebrow raise. "Shocked? Impressed?"

"Very." She looked back at him and smiled her satisfied smile again.

"So what's up?" Mulder asked, going back to her original topic.

"I figured it out. I know what Father Joe meant." To Mulder she looked kind of excited, but he was confused.

"When he told you not to give up?" She nodded. "Have you been thinking about this since then?" Now he was concerned that dwelling on that wasn't good for her mental health. She shook her head no.

"Just today. It was bugging me. But now I understand. He was talking about you. He was telling me not to give up on you. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner." Mulder tilted his head to the side a little and furrowed his brow.

"Me? Why me? _Were_ you giving up on me?" His tone was not accusing but more inquisitive, something he had long since learned was more effective with Scully.

She pondered his question for a moment before replying. "I think we were both giving up, but you had already walked away. We were fighting when he said it. I wanted you to stop and we were arguing, then you walked away. You said you were trying to ignore me. He didn't want me to give up." She seemed satisfied with her accomplishment. He was still confused.

"How do you remember all that?" She could remember everything about their fight but he had just tried to push it out of his mind. He hated fighting with her.

"I don't know. I just do. And I think we did exactly as instructed. We never give up on each other." she replied with a bigger smile. Mulder just grinned back and set his hands on her shoulders, drawing the woman he loved into an embrace, a happy, heartfelt one. He laid his head down on top of hers, loving the way they always seemed to fit together just perfectly. He kissed the top of her head and released her, then bending down to kiss her properly. She smiled and patted him lightly on the chest. "I have to get back to the kitchen, my mother will be here soon." He nodded and followed her out of the room, closing the door behind him, intent upon making more of an effort and helping in Scully cook.

**I just finished watching IWTB now that I bought it (YAY!) and I was watching the scene where Father Joe tells Scully 'Don't give up'. I was just thinking about how they were fighting right before he said that and he said he was trying to ignore her and she looked very upset. And then later it was like they were shutting each other out and this is just my opinion of what that line meant. Well I guess one of many opinions. I think that it was supposed to mean many things and be an overall statement on life, like Mulder says in the end. It's the larger answer. So yeah, drop me a line and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.**


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